Major appearance changes are planned at The Gallery shopping center on Haywood Road. A New York company, DNA Property Management, plans to develop a courtyard and renovate a side building to accommodate outdoor recreation retailers. Records show Doolittle Gallery LLC purchased the 142,000-square-foot center in November from Greenville Center 676 LLC for $13 million.

The center located near Haywood Mall includes retailers Gabe’s and Conn’s and Cici’s Pizza. A separately owned Chick-fil-A operates at the entrance.

David Weinstein, partner at DNA Property Management of Long Neck, N.Y., said 15% of the center’s space is vacant.

“We’ve been looking at this property for three years,” Weinstein said of the purchase decision by DNA Partners, which also has also acquired shopping centers in Charlotte, Durham and Raleigh, N.C.; Memphis, Tenn.; and Houston and San Antonio in Texas.

“We really believe in Greenville,” Weinstein said. He said the company is looking to add properties.

Weinstein said the side building, a former restaurant, is being gutted, and the renovation includes an exterior “elevation plan” to visually enhance the space for retailers such as running stores or bicycle stores. He said city approval is being sought for that project, which will start first.

The courtyard will follow in the area outside of Cici’s, Weinstein said.

“The game plan is to make it into a place where people can feel comfortable outside,” Weinstein said. “Right now it’s a sea of asphalt and concrete, and our intention is to humanize it. We are looking to create a community feel.”

Weinstein said trees will be planted as part of the landscaping and the parking lot will be resurfaced.

The Greenville office of Charlotte-based Collett is handling leasing at The Gallery, and broker Lance Byars said there is strong demand for commercial space along the Haywood Corridor.

“The real estate is great near the mall,” Byars said. He said the planned enhancements at The Gallery are “an opportunity for them to come in and make a difference.”

Greenville County records show the seller, Greenville Center 676 LLC, in 2013 changed its name over from Kimco Greenville 676 Inc.

~GSA Business

By Bill Poovey

http://gsabusiness.com/news/56872-buyer-of-the-gallery-plans-courtyard-renovation

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